


Of Sins & Virtues

by Jisooschrist



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: 7 capital sins, F/F, pretty dark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2019-11-04 22:35:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17906954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jisooschrist/pseuds/Jisooschrist
Summary: In which the six girls are trapped in an Inferno, doomed for the sins they committed in their lives, and Gahyeon is the only one who can help them out... but what if she doesn't make it?They will have to go through their lives again, find the light, change history, but everything comes with a little price.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, author here. This story is dark. At least for a good half of it, it will be very dark, so I do not encourage reading this if stuff like violence and general suffering upsets you.   
> If you decide to go on, it's at your own risk. 
> 
> Welcome to the Nightmare.

_Once upon a time, there used to live seven young, precious girls. Sisters, all living in a big mansion. They used to play with paper airplanes and study the little animals of the farms, but they all worked hard to earn their food. Each one of them had a peculiarity that made them shine. A virtue, perhaps._

_Prudence, Courage, Justice, Love, Hope, Humilty, Diligence: each of the girls mastered one of these virtues. But soon, the darkness took over their souls._

_The first sister became gluttonous,_

_The second luxurious,_

_The third wrathful._

_The fourth was swept over by envy,_

_The fifth instead by pride,_

_And the sixth, too attached to her possessions,_

_turned into a greedy monster,_

_That only took and desired always more._

_Only the seventh girl, the youngest, escaped their asylum before it was too late._

_Or, at least, she tried._

_The oldest of her sisters tried to get rid of her body,_

_The second to burn her tongue,_

_The fourth tried to guilt trip her into staying,_

_The fifth tried to trap her inside the mansion,_

_And the youngest of her older sisters_

_Threw away all her belongings,_

_But it was the third oldest of her sisters_

_who grabbed an old piece of rusty metal, and pushed it in her chest_

_until it hit her heart, ceasing its innocent beat._

_Legend says that, since then, the youngest sister’s soul has been traveling around, looking for a girl who resembles her enough to set her body free from the mansion, and to set free the souls of her sisters. Nobody to this day has succeeded in the mission. Some even say that the third sister killed the rest of her family, and that her grave is hidden…_ right behind you!»

 

Gahyeon screamed loudly as Dahyun suddenly pointed behind her, shouting her last few words. «DAHYUN! Don’t do that! You scared me!». Chaeyoung and Dayoung started laughing, holding their stomachs as they fell backwards on the warm ground. «That was the point!» Dahyun snickered. Gahyeon looked behind her, deep into the dark woods beside the park. «A friend of mine told me that it’s hidden between the trees, so full of moss you can barely tell it apart from the plant life. And they say, there isn’t even a name or a photo on it, just a sentence that reads “ _May her wrathful mind find the Divine ease”_ , eerie right?» Dahyun spoke again. Gahyeon looked back at her friends, grabbing some snacks and changing the subject quickly. She didn’t want to talk about creepy things during the dead of night in a quiet park… she didn’t even know how they ended up talking about that in the first place.

The moon was almost at its waning gibbous phase, and the few visible stars stung the black sky like pins. It was close to midnight, but a warm wind still rushed through the humid leaves. July was close to its end, and Gahyeon had never enjoyed the summer break more. Soon her last year of high school would start; she knew that, after her graduation, she wanted to move to a big city to pursue her singing career, maybe become an idol even, just like she had promised to… _her_ , when they were children. She knew that after graduation day she probably would have never seen her friends again. But it was okay, after all, goodbyes are just a part of life.

The girls’ eyes were beginning to close on their own, tired after a long day of bathing in the river, singing and enjoying their teenage years. After one last supposed legend about their small town, they all agreed to go back to their homes and get some sleep. They would meet each other again the next day, anyways.

Chaeyoung and Dayoung both lived close to the park, so they walked together, while Dahyun gave Gahyeon a lift in her car. Dahyun was the closest person she had to a best friend. They were in the same class and, even if Dahyun was one year older, they went along really well, they even dropped honorifics. The car ride was pretty quiet, as both the girls were tired. «See you tomorrow» Dahyun said, before dropping Gahyeon in front of her porch. «As always!»

 

Her parents had already gone to sleep, so everything was dark. After tip-toeing to her room quickly, she plunged into bed, turned the fan on and put her laptop on her legs. She hadn’t stopped thinking about that stupid scary story Dahyun told her all the way home, but… something else was bugging her. It was midnight. It was the 27th of July.

 

 

It was Handong’s death anniversary.

 

 

It had happened only three years prior. They hung out as usual the day before and then- she just jumped. From the mall’s roof. Nobody even knew how she got there in the first place, but she did. Three years.

Handong was her step-cousin: she had entered the Lee household when Gahyeon was still going to middle school, after being adopted by her aunt. They immediately got along well. Handong was kind, but she was often… too self-conscious. Something often brought her mood down.

A really smart girl. She learned Korean quickly, but still skipped a school year so as not to have any problem with the language barrier. Gahyeon remembered when Handong became maybe too old to hang out with her and she started hanging out with one of her classmates, Yoohyeon, instead. Kim Yoohyeon, the school’s popular, pretty, intelligent girl. Everyone loved her, but Gahyeon. She couldn’t deny that she had always been a little jealous of Handong, and she didn’t want to “share” her with anyone else, let alone Kim Yoohyeon, but it wasn’t her life so what could she do? She knew that Yoohyeon wasn’t a good presence in Handong’s life. She knew that Yoohyeon was so confident to the point that she would always snicker some degrading jokes to her friends, including Handong. Gahyeon really did not understand how she was ever so popular. _Was_ … well, Kim Yoohyeon wasn’t a problem in her life anymore. She was dead. Just days before her graduation, the tragedy of their school.

 

Gahyeon shook her head firmly. She was not going to think about this at midnight. She would already be sad enough the rest of the day, no need to lose hours of sleep over something that was done and gone. She put on a drama on her computer, the earbuds in her ears, fan on maximum, and she let the complex plot distract her mind from unwanted thoughts. Just her, her laptop, and a pitch black room.

 

 

 

 

 

_Through me one goes into the town of woe,_

_through me one goes into eternal pain,_

_through me among the people that are lost._

 

 

 

 

 

Gahyeon did not remember falling asleep. And she didn’t know why she woke up. She was having a nice dream and the fan had cooled down enough the temperature in her room. Maybe, it was even too cool. She adjusted herself on her pillow, sitting up, and she wondered if the static on her computer was part of the drama. She tried to move the cursor, press some keys, even held the power button for a few seconds hoping it would turn off but it didn’t. The static stood there. «Oh, great, just great» she murmured. A broken laptop was definitely what she didn’t need. She closed it and put it on her nightstand, taking a quick glance at the clock. It was 3:47 am. She groaned and laid back in bed, failing miserably at going back to sleep. Something was off, something was odd: the static on the computer, the clock that still hadn’t moved from 3:47, the autumn-like cold, and all her turning on the bed and the paranoia came to an end when a voice echoed in her room.

The voice called her.

Gahyeon knew that voice.

 

She didn’t move, and after a few seconds of wondering whether she had heard it right or not, the voice spoke again. « _Wake up, Gahyeon»_ it said. She was sure, she was sure it was _her_ voice, she could recognize it out of a million others. It was _hers_. Gahyeon turned slowly, her eyes wide open to make out a figure standing at the end of her bed in the dark of the room, lighted up only by the static of the computer that somehow was open again. And there she was.

Her long face, the smooth skin, the straight nose, her cute lips, everything was in place, except for one thing. Her eyes were closed, and Gahyeon couldn’t tell if the black lines were just her eyelashes or else, but she was sure.

 

Handong was the one standing at the end of her bed.

 

Gahyeon wanted to scream, but not a sound came out of her mouth. That was a sick dream, just a sick, sick dream. She knew what to do: pinching her arm as hard as she could. A little squeak of pain made Handong turn her head immediately towards the source of the sound, and Gahyeon felt her piercing gaze even if her eyes were still shut. She did not wake up. She pinched her arm again, then her leg, but every time her heart just started beating faster and faster and Handong got closer and she did not wake up.

«What are you doing here?!» she finally exclaimed, as the other girl, who had now bent down, was just inches away from her face. She had no expression, and Gahyeon could see the movement of her eyes behind her eyelids. Handong stood up quickly, almost startled by the sudden question, but her composure remained stiff and cold. She offered her hand, and with a monotone, low voice she said «You need to come with me».

 

Handong’s hand was colder than expected on Gahyeon’s skin, but she held tightly the younger girl, walking her confidently through a house that Gahyeon didn’t know. It was pitch black outside but somehow a grey gleam managed to get through the broken windows, creating a game of shadows that made the youngest shiver. «Where are we? » she asked. «Nowhere» was the answer. «Where are you taking me? » Gahyeon asked again. Once more, the answer was a cold, ominous «You will understand as we walk». And so they walked silently through a long, seemingly never-ending hallway, towards a single open door. «You are the chosen one, » Handong spoke, «but I had no voice in this. It was the fate that decided. I know you can do this». Every sentence made Gahyeon more and more confused. «There is no chance of failure, you have to do this. Every girl you will see is a sinner, stuck in this hell for the way they behaved while on Earth. But you, you have what they need to regain forgiveness. I trust you». Gahyeon thought about her words. That was an extremely elaborate dream, for sure. «What about you? Why are you here? » she asked. «I will be your guardian. I will guide and protect you here» Handong answered. Pretty weird, Gahyeon thought, considering that her eyes were closed. Now that she could see them better, she realized that they weren’t just closed, they were sewed so that they could not be opened. Some dry blood surrounded her eyes. Gahyeon remembered just how pretty they were, how much she would pay to see them once again… but not like this.

 

Handong suddenly stopped, right in front of a door.

It was a wooden door, and a weak orange light filtered through the key hole. Handong turned her head to Gahyeon, _looking_ at her, speaking an unspoken language, and she opened the door.


	2. Inferno: Gula

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “«When I was still like you, I used to have a name. It was a beautiful name, well sought-after, during daytime and during night-time. But now, my name is not important. Now it just brings shame to my blood relatives, and here in the Inferno, I am just referred to as Gluttony»  
> Gahyeon was taken aback. «So the food here…» she began to talk, but couldn’t finish her sentence. «It is my punishment. Retaliation, for my gluttony is what made me perish, I am now forever cornered by what killed me, but I can’t however touch it» the girl said.”

The first thing that hit Gahyeon was the rancid smell coming from inside the chamber.

It was hard to get adjusted to the now brighter light that seemed to come from a small window at the side of the room. Soon, scanning her surroundings, Gahyeon realized that she was in a small bedroom. She could see a wardrobe to her right, a desk in front of her and a bed in the left corner. As she tried to make a step however, her feet found themselves in a goo like substance. She looked down only to see what looked like remains of food, of which she could only figure out the spoiled smell, covering all of the floor a few centimetres deep. She inhaled deeply and kept walking, holding Handong’s hand tightly. Her eyes trailed on the walls of the room: they were filled with photos, but in each one the faces had been torn off or drawn over, leaving only silent bodies to speak. There were a few posters, normal stuff that normal teenagers would have in their rooms, yet it felt so uneasy in that situation. But then, beside the posters and photos, there was something much more curious on the walls of that room: food, rotten aliments, placed on little mountains all around the perimeter. It was hard for Gahyeon to fight her gag reflex at the awful smell.

 

So she kept walking, looking for she didn’t even know what, when her eyes landed on the bed. She stopped in her tracks and suddenly the sound of the goo moving at her steps was replaced by that of heavy breathing, coming from that very own bed. On it, Gahyeon could only tell apart two legs and long, dark hair. «Hel… lo?» she spoke hesitantly, afraid the creature would jump on her, but it didn’t. It didn’t even flinch, and Gahyeon moved her attention back to the desk on her side. She moved her fingertips on the objects upon it (most of which were some sort of snacks), before lifting a photo. There were two girls, and their faces – weirdly enough – had not been disfigured. Gahyeon was sure the two girls reminded her of some people she knew, but no one came to mind. From the background, she could tell the photo was taken while in a mall of some sort.

 

«Cover your eyes»

 

Gahyeon nearly jumped when the three words broke the silence. She hadn’t realized that the heavy breathing had stopped the moment she grabbed the photo. She looked to her left, while holding Handong’s hand so tightly that she was sure had it not been all a dream, the older girl would have whined for the pain. The creature that earlier was laying on the bed was now sitting up, her hair still covered all of her face but it was clearer now that it was a girl. Gahyeon couldn’t respond, but there was no need to. «Don’t look» the creature spoke again. 

Again, silence filled the room, but this time the pace was marked by the sound of Gahyeon’s heart beating. Her mouth was suddenly dry, and she had to fight the urge to scream before finally gathering up enough courage to ask «Why?». The girl had a raspy voice, kind of as if something was itching her throat. «She will take your soul,» she said «and eat you alive, like she did with me. If you look too long, you will fall for her, and you will become her doll». That was the eeriest possible answer Gahyeon could expect. The girl brought her hands to her face and ever so slowly pulled the hair behind her ears, revealing a face.

Her eyes were squinting, and the colour of the skin on her face didn’t match the one on the legs and arms. It was… colder, although it was hard to tell given how everything in the room was lit up by the orange light. Gahyeon could, however, see some crumbs all around the girl’s mouth, and there was something wrong with the way her neck was shaped… Gahyeon couldn’t tell what, but something was bothering her. The girl was wearing a school uniform, a standard white blouse and a dark (possibly grey) skirt.

 

«Is that what she did to you?» Gahyeon asked.

 

The girl brought her legs closer to her chest and hugged them, as she hid her face between her knees. «Somewhat…» was her muffled answer. And then the heavy breathing started again and she seemed to be stuck in that position, like a robot that had been turned off.

Gahyeon looked at Handong, confused. She left the photo on the desk and walked away, still examining the room. _What is the meaning of all this?_ she asked herself, _what am I supposed to do in this dream?_ Only now she realized the door had been completely covered by the mountains of spoiled food, closing all the three girls together in that fetid hell. That meant she still had something to do there? She hadn’t completed the puzzle?

She rushed back to the girl, standing a bare meter away from her bed. «Who are you?» she asked.

 

It took a while for the girl to lift her head again, but now that they were closer, Gahyeon could see that her face seemed to be a little bloated. Not enough to distort her facial features, but enough to make Gahyeon wonder if it was supposed to represent something. The heavy breathing became faster, and to every inhalation and exhalation followed a high pitched whistle that seemed to came directly from her throat. «When I was still like you, I used to have a name. It was a beautiful name, well sought-after, during daytime and during night-time. But now, my name is not important. Now it just brings shame to my blood relatives, and here in the Inferno, I am just referred to as _Gluttony_ »

Gahyeon was taken aback. «So the food here…» she began to talk, but couldn’t finish her sentence. «It is my punishment. Retaliation, for my gluttony is what made me perish, I am now forever cornered by what killed me, but I can’t however touch it» the girl said.

 

«You can’t touch it… that’s why you’re staying on your bed?» Gahyeon looked around at the spoiled food on the ground.

 

Gluttony nodded.

 

It all made more sense now, but it was a sudden thought that made Gahyeon realize… this was the exact same story that Dahyun had told her that night. Or at least, it appeared to be. There was a girl, trapped in a house, who represented the sin of taste, so that meant that there were also the other _sisters_ in the mansion? Henceforth… was _she_ the seventh sister? The chosen one?

She shook her head. It was just a dream, just a very elaborate dream.

 

«How did your gluttony kill you?» she asked.

 

The girl looked away from Gahyeon, forwards, focusing on the desk in front of her. «It is a long story, but I assume you have time…

 

 

 

_It was autumn._

_It was autumn and the red leaves fell elegantly on the ground, carried by the last summer wind, waltzing in the brisk air. The sun was now at dusk, and its warm deep red coloured all the city into shades of orange. Two shadows were walking, as the hands waited several meters behind the heads. And on command, at the end of the shadows, two girls paced peacefully down the busy street._

_One of them was tall and slim. Her hair was long and brown and it fell gracefully on her shoulders. The other was shorter, and her hair, of a darker shade, was tied up in a ponytail, while a few strands cornered her forehead. They were carrying backpacks full of books, but it felt to them as if they were walking on sunshine holding each other’s hand like that._

_It was a peaceful walk, accompanied by the slow intervals between the evergreens at the side of the path and by young laughs._

_They weren’t holding hands, but the taller had her arm entangled with the other girl’s, her fingers bouncing gently on the wrist._

_«Do you want to go to the mall?» she asked._

_«Now?»_

_«Yes, we can get some ramyeon»_

_The shorter girl thought about it. She agreed._

_It was autumn. The two girls had known each other for a few years then. They were… friends. Sometimes, more than friends._

_Under the sun, they were the class president, and the lead cheerleader._

_Under the moon, they were rejection and neglect._

_Under the sun, they were just two best friends._

_Under the moon, it was a quiet symphony of moans._

_Being each other’s escape from their tight surroundings, but it wasn’t enough for neither of them._

_The taller girl wanted more emotionally, the shorter wanted more carnally._

_They tried to find a solution. They did try._

_They arrived at the mall. There weren’t many people wandering around, and the sound of their steps echoed in the big building. «I want to show you something» the taller girl said. She grabbed her friend’s wrist and pulled her, walking quickly through the maze of shops, until they reached a door with “emergency exit” written on it. «Won’t the alarm go off if you open it?» the short girl stopped in her tracks. «No, trust me. I’ve done it many times already» the other answered confidently. She pushed the door open and looked quickly through the surroundings before they both walked out and closed the door behind them._

_They found themselves on a small area that led to the back of the building. No human was there, only some tall trees, full of bright leaves. A melancholic view, but gorgeous nevertheless._

_The sun filtered through the branches and everything was orange, red, pink._

_«It’s beautiful here» the short girl said. She observed her surroundings in awe, feeling as if she had been put in an impressionist painting, but her sight was soon covered. «Close your eyes», so she did. «What are you doing?» she asked, smiling brightly, as she could only hear the sound of a zip lock being opened and closed. «Okay, you can look» the taller girl said, a hint of nervousness in her tone._

_The short girl was first hit by an intense perfume, and as she opened her eyes an ensemble of colours welcomed her sight._

_Her friend was standing still in front of her, holding a bouquet of flowers: red roses, red tulips, red camellias, a painting of red softened by the pastel green of the flowers of the ginkgo biloba. They all meant love, not only passion, but romance. «They’re… for me?» the shorter asked, placing her hands in front of her mouth. The other wanted to reply but words stopped in her throat. She simply nodded and swallowed nervously. She had practiced this, she was ready. She was going to confess her love, she was going to ask for a more serious relationship once and for all. She had prepared the speech in front of her mirror for days, yet now it felt as if her vocal chords just didn’t want to cooperate. «I… I don’t know what to say» the short girl grabbed the bouquet hesitantly, digging her nose between the petals and smiling like never before. She put the flowers aside and got closer to the taller girl, she stood on her toes and connected their lips with a gentle kiss. The latter felt her heart skipping a few beats. It didn’t matter how many times they had kissed already, it didn’t matter how many times they had consumed their love already, every time they kissed, her guts went crazy and she was left out of breath. But she had to speak. It was now or never. She had prepared a bouquet, she had researched the flowers. She was ready. So she spoke._

_«I chose red flowers because red is your favourite colour, but they all have their meanings. The red rose is the usual flower connected to love, while the red camellia is reserved for significant others – her voice cracked –, red tulips are… used to represent a declaration of love and the ginkgo biloba flowers carry a message of hope. I have hope… Kim Bora, you are the apple of my eye. You are the reason why I get up every morning and the thought of your love gives me strength when I’m in need. I fell for you the first moment I saw your eyes, those beautiful eyes, and your voice gives me happiness and every time we kiss I can feel my heart going crazy and I want to feel that for the rest of my life. Kim Bora, I love you. No, I am in love with you, not only with your body, which is great sure but- you, the whole you is what I love, and I can’t imagine my life without you. You bring colours and feelings and I don’t want to spend a minute without you. So… will you be my girlfriend?»_

_It felt as if she had just finished a marathon. She probably stuttered and didn’t speak clearly but in that moment it didn’t matter because she had done it. She had confessed her love, and the the wait for an answer was eating her alive. Though, she couldn’t stop herself from having the biggest smile on her face. She didn’t just want to be friends with benefits, she wanted to shout to the whole world that Kim Bora was hers and hers only, but every second that passed without an answer, she could feel her smile getting smaller and her eyes blinking faster and her heart beating louder, the silence was getting oppressive and the sudden realization that it could have gone wrong hit her._

_«Minji…»_

_She nodded unconsciously, too eager for an answer._

_«you know how much I… care about you»_

_Her breathing got faster and she clenched her jaw._

_«but I can’t do this.»_

_She was sure that her heart stopped beating at all._

_«I’m sorry»_

_Bora put the bouquet Minji had prepared with such care back into her hands. She looked down. She was crying too, but Minji didn’t know. «I really am» she walked away quickly, leaving the other alone._

_How could orange be such a cold colour?_

_And how could the pink she loved so much be bearer of such terrible heartache?_

_Minji didn’t understand. She didn’t understand how, in dramas, heartbreak scenes were always so dramatic, it always rained and a soft piano melody filled the silence, but in that moment it didn’t feel like her heart had been broken. The sky was clear and the sun was warm, and there was no music to fill the emptiness that was now taking over her soul._

_She stood there, looking beyond, focusing on nothing. She let the bouquet slide off her hands and a sudden rush of wind made all the red leaves on the trees tumble down, dancing around her, as if they were there to comfort her. But nobody was really there for her, not now that she had lost the person that meant the most to her._

_She stood there letting tears fall on her cheeks until the red of the sky had moved to her eyes, and the cold was starting to make her shiver._

_She opened the door, finding herself surrounded by shoppers who didn’t mind about her distressed look or the fact that she had just entered from an emergency exit door.  
Was she really that unimportant? _

_She walked sorrowfully._

_And the bouquet, she had attached all her emotions to it, and left it outside._

_It was all done now._

Gahyeon didn’t realize her eyes were watering up until Gluttony finished the story.

It was a painful story, yet it seemed as if it didn’t affect Gluttony in that moment. She didn’t cry or change expression, the pain was in her voice but it seemed as if it didn’t really affect her.

But what did this all have to do with gluttony? Gahyeon didn’t need to ask it, the story wasn’t over.

 

«Before this happened, food had already become my refuge. I used it to fill the holes that she left in me. I worked out a lot, so it didn’t change my appearance, but I ate well whenever I was feeling down. But it was that day, that it became my damnation. After I regained the ability to walk, I went back home and locked myself in my bedroom. My brother was in his, he had headphones on, he didn’t hear. I put on a movie and grabbed my so loved snacks, but I was crying too much as I ate. I wasn’t breathing regularly, and before I noticed a piece of something got stuck in my throat. It obstructed my breathing completely. I tried getting up, reaching for my brother’s room, but I hadn’t enough oxygen in me to open my own door»

 

Gluttony turned to look towards Gahyeon again.

 

«I died asphyxiated. They only found my body two hours after I exhaled my last breath. There was nothing they could do»

 

Now it all made sense. That’s why her face was bloated, and her neck slightly distorted, the fact that she was out of breath constantly and when she did breathe there would be a little whistle. Gahyeon looked down, processing the information, but as soon as she got distracted, she was aggressively pulled towards the bed by a pair of hands that gripped her neck tightly. «You can’t escape!» Gluttony screamed suddenly, «I have waited so long for this moment. I can’t eat all of that, but you… you I can eat!». Gahyeon tried her best to pull away the hands blocking her breathing, scratching them, and as Gluttony suddenly opened her mouth and moved towards her face she pushed it with her hands. «HAN-» she tried to shout with the little air that passed through. Gluttony was squeezing harder, and Gahyeon couldn’t resist much more, her hands fell to the side and as Gluttony was about to bite her Gahyeon was pulled back violently. She fell on the ground and Gluttony started screaming «COME BACK! COME BACK!», as she pushed herself up. «I NEED YOU! PLEASE! I NEED TO FEED MYSELF! THE PAIN IS UNBEARABLE!» Handong grabbed Gahyeon, forcing her to move. Gluttony had started crying hysterically at that point, but she couldn’t get off the bed. She was screaming like a mad woman and moving around, crying and calling Gahyeon. «Let’s go!» Handong shouted over the screeches of the sinner. They walked quickly towards the door that was now open again, but as they were about to leave, Gluttony shouted again «Wait!». This time it was… different. It sounded genuinely hurt, and Gahyeon couldn’t help herself but to look behind. Gluttony was crying loudly now, grasping for air as she scratched her neck and breathed quickly. It was a painful view, but Gahyeon pulled through until the girl could finish what she was saying. Her breathing got slightly slower, and she said, now in a normal tone, «please don’t forget my name».

Gahyeon had tears running down her face. Some for the near death experience, and some because seeing the way Gluttony had suffered and was still suffering, was too much to swallow.

«Kim» Gluttony had to stop, the oxygen in her lungs not being enough to finish the sentence. «Kim… Min… Ji» she tried again. Her hands were still around her neck. «Please… tell… _her_ » was the last thing she said, before she fell on the bed, lifeless. All that could be heard again was the slow, never-ending heavy breathing.

 

The last thing Gahyeon saw was a helpless girl, who never deserved the hell she had been given, who only died because she loved, and then the door was shut closed and she was in the corridor again.

 

She walked back until she hit the wall, and then she slid down, while everything that had happened was finally starting to hit. She covered her face with her hands and repeated to herself between a sob and another «It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream, it’s just a dream», but it wasn’t just a dream. If it had been a dream, she would have already woken up. She pinched her arms again but nothing happened, and suddenly she found herself short of breath. «Handong I- I can’t do this; I want to go back home» she said as she grasped for air. Handong kneeled down until she was eye to eye with Gahyeon. «I just want to go away, ple-please» the younger murmured. «You can’t, Gahyeon», «I’m too scared». Handong grabbed her face gently. «Gahyeon, I will protect you. They can’t hurt you as long as I’m with you» she said calmly. Gahyeon wanted to answer, but all that came out of her mouth were whines and sobs. «We’re running out of time, the sun will rise soon. If you don’t complete the quest, you will end up in your own inferno and you will never wake up from it again. You can’t leave now». Surely Handong wanted to comfort her, but the words she said only made Gahyeon more nervous. «Gahyeon, you can do this. I believe in you. You’re a smart girl, you’re an honorary student, you can get through this» she said, caressing gently her friend’s cheek, wiping the tears.

 

It took Gahyeon a lot to calm down, but her will was strong and she got up, holding onto Handong’s hand, and they walked together towards the next room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it, I'll start working asap on the next one. Please consider leaving a kudos or a comment so I can be more motivated to work harder on this and bring you even better chapter!   
> Until next time ~


	3. Inferno: Luxuria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "By day, Bora had a different boyfriend every other week. They were her toys, only for her to use. And when she grew tired of them, when she found someone more attractive, she would move on without regrets. Bora was beautiful, lush indeed. No one could escape her piercing glare. Bullets were her eyes, knives her hands. The world was at her disposal with just her smile."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW (spoiler-ish):  
> \- graphic description of gore   
> \- don't read this if you have trauma related to water   
> \- vomiting  
> \- suicide
> 
> Read at your own peril, you have been warned

«Handong»

 

Gahyeon’s voice echoed in the long, dimly lit corridor.

 

Handong turned towards the girl, waiting for more words. But silence stayed unbroken and she could only feel the grip on her hand tighten as Gahyeon’s breathing became heavier. 

 

There, just under a table less than two meters away, two shiny white bulbs pierced the pitch black of the shadow. Dilated pupils quivered from Gahyeon’s left eye, to her right, screaming words that she couldn’t decipher.

 

«What is it?» Handong called out.

 

«I think someone is staring at us»

 

Before she could realize it, her body was thrown away. Gahyeon crashed on a door, and without having the time to stand still, Handong pinned her against it and with evident worry in her words she whispered «Do not look. Run away from those eyes, or before you know it they will be yours».

 

No more words were said, Handong’s mouth closed shut and her back straight. Gahyeon knew that she could not ask her any questions, so she just took a deep breath, holding the other girl’s hand again, and she opened the second door.

 

 

 

 

 

A freezing cold room unlocked before their eyes, sending shivers all over Gahyeon’s body. Her throat felt immediately dry and sore, as if tiny stalagmites had formed in it, while her bare feet had started to sink in the freezing mud and she had to start moving again quickly before she could risk getting stuck.

 

This room didn’t appear to be a room. If anything, it seemed as if they had exited the mansion, walking in some kind of forest, yet the air was completely still, frozen in time. Tall, black trees hovered above her head, slim branches snaring the two girls like a bird cage. There was no wind, and all they could hear was the slimy mud swallowing Gahyeon’s every step.

When her feet landed with a loud _splash_ she finally lowered her head, looking in the darkness ahead: glacial water was cutting her ankle, and she soon realized that it came from a small river right in front of her. In the middle of it, a body laying perfectly still.

 

Despite the branches covering all that could be seen of the sky, gleams of the silver moon still managed to make their way to the water, creating soft shadows on the floating creature. Gahyeon knew she had to move closer. She kept walking, but the grip on her hand disappeared, and when she turned to look at Handong, the girl was standing at the edge of the river, still as a statue with black holes where her eyes should have been.

 

«I cannot walk any further from here or the water will burn my skin. You shall dive without me, but I will observe and protect you from afar» she said, voice as frosty as the air.

Gahyeon didn’t try to reply, in fact she barely hesitated before going back to her path. The water was heavy, and her legs took a tad too long to move, with water wetting higher up her legs the more she went forwards and knee high seaweeds brushing against her tender skin. Gahyeon just imagined herself skinny dipping with her friends to help herself calm down, but the way that gravity and dirt pulled her down and slowed her pace brought her back to that dream-like reality. Her eyes were shut, unwilling to look ahead of her, seaweed black in the crystalline water like deadly spikes, until her arms bumped into something, and she finally saw.

 

The body in the middle of the river was lying right in front of her now, as still as the atmosphere. Gahyeon’s movements hadn’t created any waves in that dense water, and only the strands of hair fluctuating besides the body’s head made it look real.

It was a girl. Her face was beautiful, undoubtedly, but odd. A sharp nose first caught Gahyeon’s attention, then pointy lips perfectly shut, then closed eyes and thick brows. And it would have looked like a perfectly healthy girl if it wasn’t for the unnatural paleness of her skin. With a long, white vest barely covering her skin and pitch black hair all around her head, floating like seaweeds, her complexion reminded that of a Gwishin, one that Gahyeon should have been afraid of.

But she wasn’t afraid in that moment. She kept observing the girls’ features, searching in her mind for a folder that could give a name to those sick traits.

She had seen that face already. She had seen her at school sometimes, barely catching a glimpse of her inside a car while Kim Yoohyeon got in and out. Kim Yoohyeon’s sister, that’s who she was. Step- sister at that. But it wasn’t that the reason why she remembered her, no.

 

Gahyeon could still hear the vibrating sound of the television through the thin walls of her room. It wasn’t a school day, she took her time to get up and walk into the kitchen. Her parents’ eyes were glued to the device, the local news scrolling on the screen one after another. A concert in the zone, some bears found in the woods, tax evasion by a known politician, a dead girl found in the river.

A dead girl found in the river?

 

Gahyeon turned her head to the TV, listening carefully. They recorded only a quick shot of her face, without mentioning her name, but it wasn’t long until rumours started spreading and everyone knew who it was. The family didn’t let details be known to the public. Some said that she was intoxicated when she fell into the river and died of hypothermia; others said that she purposefully jumped off for reasons unknown. Some even said that she was pushed by some madman. Gahyeon remembered seeing her body in the television, only getting a glimpse of it before her parents changed the channel, denying their daughters the sight of the bloated cadaver.

But the girl floating gracefully in front of her was far from being a corpse in the first stages of putrefaction. Her skin was of a sickly white, but not blue or green, and with the way that she looked, white dress and dead rose between her crossed hands, it seemed more like her body was laying in a coffin embalmed and far away from water terrors.

A shiver rushed down Gahyeon’s body, passing through each of her vertebrae down to her toes. If she was to spend too much time in that ice-cold water, she would have been the one to die of hypothermia, so she wobbled her legs a bit and brushed her hands against her arms to no use underwater, the resulting currents shaking the slimy seaweeds against her calves and ankles.

But how was she to call the girl? For her name she could not remember, despite it being on the tip of her tongue. So she only shook her arm gently, rocking the body like as in a cradle, afraid that if her grip was too strong the tissues were to be torn off. The body moved for a few seconds, but there was no response, if not for the dried petals flying slowly in the water, sinking as if they were made of lead.

Then Gahyeon started calling for her, «Hey!» she shouted out loud. A sense of hurry was starting to grow in her guts, and when she turned her head to look at Handong, she noticed that the girl had gotten significantly further away, and the water was surely starting to get deeper, slowly reaching for her neck. But the girl still gave no response.

Then realization struck.

What if she was the girl that Gluttony was talking about? Gahyeon thought: «It’s my last option», and with a trembling voice she said «You are the lover of Kim Minji».

 

In a moment, a head snapped towards her.

Black eyes staring deep in her soul, the sclera uncannily visible, and a distressing smell of rotting flesh now hitting her senses. «It was all her fault» the girl said. As she opened her mouth though, water started flooding out of it and padding all her words down to a distressed gurgle.

At that point, Gahyeon had to stand on the tip of her toes, water now just below her lifted chin. Suddenly, the slimy seaweed tied around her wrists and ankles in a snap while the corpse stood straight in the water. Her skin was quickly decomposing now. Big pieces of makeup and adipocere were detaching roughly from her body to float in the water surrounding Gahyeon’s face, sticking to her cheeks and slowly filling her nostrils.

 

«She wanted too much!» the cadaver shouted with lungs filled with water. The seaweeds were scratching Gahyeon’s skin now, and she could do nothing but observe as the girl in front of her turned into a monster. Skin turning into darker shades of blue and green, meat bloating with tissues filled with gases. Her face was no longer recognizable. Eyes were popping out of their sockets and the mouth was exploding with dark, thick water.

 

«Handong! Help!» Gahyeon screamed, words babbling with the rotten liquid around her.

But she knew that Handong couldn’t help, and with the speed of a lightning, her memory came back and she screamed the name: «Kim Bora!», and everything stopped.

 

 

 

 

 

_Kim Minji wasn’t more than a friend with benefit to Bora. She had never been._

_Bora had promised herself that she was not going to feel feelings, or for the very least feelings that went beyond arousal. She wanted none of that. Love was fake, relationships were fake, and being bound to only one person was not an option for her._

_Minji was her favourite, yes, but not the only one._

_It started during the first years of high school, it was just experimenting. Then they realized that the experimenting felt good, in fact better than it should have, and it became a routine. After school, whenever Bora’s parents weren’t home and her sister was still studying at some academy. They would walk there together, eat something, go to bed. It was always Bora who initiated the act. She hopped on top of Minji, kissing her neck loudly while quietly undressing. Then when the deed was done, they laid in bed and fell asleep, and the morning after everything was forgotten._

_By day, Bora had a different boyfriend every other week. They were her toys, only for her to use. And when she grew tired of them, when she found someone more attractive, she would move on without regrets. Bora was beautiful, lush indeed. No one could escape her piercing glare. Bullets were her eyes, knives her hands. The world was at her disposal with just her smile._

_Out of everyone, Minji was her most loyal servant._

_She knew all about Minji’s feeling, always had. But she dismissed them every time with no care. When they would fornicate at the latter’s house, Bora wouldn’t wait there. She would get up, get dressed, and leave to move onto another unsuspecting victim._

_«Stay a little longer» Minji would always plead._

_«Why would I? I will see you tomorrow, and I have better things to do than waste time» Bora would always reply._

_She had no problems coming back home late. To her parents, it did not matter whether she came back at 9pm or at 4am, it did not matter whether she came back home at all. And everytime she could, skipping meals was ideal._

_So, one deadly afternoon, Minji made a great mistake._

_Bora ran away. She couldn’t commit herself to Minji, she couldn’t put herself in danger like that._

_She had been hurt already, she had been left alone always, trusting someone, no matter who, was out of discussion. So she ran away, hiding her troubles between bed sheets, letting moans and whimpers erase Minji’s name out of her mind._

_It didn’t last, they kept reappearing._

_But when she had a second thought about her decision, when she realized that maybe putting herself out there was the only way to go on with her past, it was far too late._

_«No» Bora said, a pale smile on her face. They had just told her that Minji had been found dead, what nonsense that was._

_«Bora…»_

_«Look, I’m going to call her and she will pick up»_

_Minji did not pick up. Not then, not after the 10 th call, not ever. _

_Yet Bora did not believe it. Not when Minji didn’t answer her phone, not when she hugged Minji’s wailing parents, not when she walked into the funeral hall. She bowed once to Minji’s family, but she couldn’t bring herself to bow twice to the girl herself. It wasn’t real. Minji was fine, she was just… wandering off somewhere. She would come back eventually._

_So she waited, that night, by the little bridge where they would usually hang out. There, where the water had peaked at their first awkward kiss._

_She didn’t say “I love you”. She didn’t accept the flowers. She ran away like a coward. That’s all she was. Her negligence was what killed Minji, she was aware of it. If only she admitted her feelings. If only she didn’t lie to herself. If only she hadn’t been afraid of commitment. If only… if only. That was all she could say._

_If only._

_Minji was not there, and she was not going to come back._

_Bora’s body had fulfilled all its wishes, yet her heart was aching this time. And she never trusted, she never believed, she never committed, she never loved to avoid that pain. She never admitted her feelings for Minji so as not to be thrown out from her community. She never fulfilled Minji’s wishes because she could never trust her. She knew that Minji was just going to leave her, like everyone. She thought that Minji was her toy, but Bora herself was her own toy. Manipulated by fears, by her parents’ negligence, her body was but a puppet, mouthing what her relatives had told her._

_All the warmth her body had felt could not make up for the freezing tears on her cheek, and the cold void in her chest._

_Bottle after bottle, all her senses were clouded, but not even the booze could warm her up… so why not feel colder?_

_She could never feel warmth again. It would have been freezing inside of her forever, maybe only other cold could fill her up._

_So she let go._

_The water hit her body harshly, unforgivingly. She wasn’t seeking for forgiveness, she knew she didn’t deserve it._

_So she let go._

_Her body floated lifelessly facing the bright stars. Her heart pace was fast, limbs shivering, water rocking her to sleep endlessly. Then, after her heart slowed down, she lost touch of her hands and feet. The water was just a little more wavy now, making its way through her nostrils and shivering lips, and she soon found herself underwater. She did not fight back, because she didn’t want to, because it was too late. The cold had incapacitated her arms and legs, so she just held her breath for as long as she could. Her salty tears disappeared in the cold, sweet water, watching helplessly as the night sky slipped from her sight, eyes covered by black seaweeds surrounding her in a last tight, loving hug._

_So she let go._

_«I love you, Kim Minji!» she screamed to the fish with the remaining oxygen in her mouth._

_Then her lungs started filling with water, frost scratching her throat. Her body writhed, reaching the climax of her death. Then everything became dark._

«It’s you! Kim Bora!»

 

Hearing her name resonate against the waves, Bora let out a scream of doom, and Gahyeon had just enough time to inhale before the tight grip of the seaweeds jerked her down.

 

Her sight was clogged by the seaweeds. She stretched her arms ahead, pulling aside the kelps only to reveal more of them. Something slithered against her right arm, and some else against her left leg, and she was soon in the still depth of the river, surrounded by endless kelps and unknown creatures rushing through the currents.

Stirring the waters around her, each time her movements became weaker and her legs more clogged in the mud at the bottom of the river. It was as if a thousand hands made of mire were pulling her down. She could see nothing but darkness. Her ears were compressed by the water, all sounds clouded, and little bubbles of air were starting to leave her lungs empty. Her arms dropped lifeless to her side. She couldn’t fight any longer.

 

The water was moments apart from breaking into her throat when something pulled her up.

She could hold on. She had to keep it in. The _thing_ dragged her quickly up near the surface unravelling between the kelps violently, while Gahyeon held her nose and covered her mouth as her diaphragm moved uncontrollably.

 

Her head was above water again. She wheezed loudly, hungry for air, coughing and spitting out water. When she regained her senses, the thing loosened its grip and she was left floating again. The water was dense and heavy on her weak legs, but she could not afford to go down again. That was her life on the line, and she wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

 

The place had changed. The banks were full of orange flames that hovered above the water, enclosing in a circle both Gahyeon and what once was Kim Bora, who was at the centre of the ring, still shouting.

 

«It was her fault! She wanted too much!» her voice gurgled loudly.

 

«She only loved you!» Gahyeon yelled back.

Bora let out a high pitched scream that pushed Gahyeon underwater again. This time however, she immediately sprinted up. She had to get away and reach the ground. Her eyes darted across the burning ring, locating Handong closer than when she last saw her. Gahyeon began moving her arms quickly, splashing them against the water chaotically, continuously swaying her legs to kick away the living seaweeds.

 

«NO!» Bora’s voice echoed between the waves. To the sound of her call, the ring of fire got taller, wider, blasting itself right over Gahyeon’s head moments after she shielded herself underwater. «I WILL NOT LET YOU RUN AWAY!» the corpse cried again, «YOU WILL STAY HERE WITH ME! FOREVER!»

 

Gahyeon didn’t resurface. She could see the yellow gleam right above the water, if she was to let her head out of it she would have burned herself and then probably drowned. Sprinting towards the banks, or at least where she remembered they were, was the best choice. Kelps scraped her face, and she could see nothing in front of her other than their leaves and those dark moving figures she had seen earlier. She wobbled her legs like a tail, trying not to create bubble that could have given away her position, but when her lungs couldn’t hold on anymore she swam upwards, and with delight noticed that the ring of fire had moved to the edges of the area again.

 

«YOU’RE MY DOLL NOW! FORVER! FOROEVR!» Bora kept shouting, each word becoming more distorted, her voice now an unidentifiable sound. Gahyeon could not see her jaw anymore, her face had become a big, bloated, dark ball, with blood shot eyes twitching in confusion and a grossly protruded tongue. Her body bobbed like a sinking boat, pieces of skin detaching loudly, creating tall waves as they fell down.

 

That infernal pandemonium was too much for Gahyeon. She plugged her ears, screaming at the top of her lungs when some sharp object hit her shoulder. Handong was standing on the bank, calling her name out loud. But as Gahyeon opened her mouth to call the girl, a flame blasted her back, pushing her underwater again. Her limbs were slowly becoming numb, succumbing to the wintry water. She was pushing and kicking and pulling but her body was not moving, only sinking further to the bottom. Her body was being incapacitated by the freezing temperature, and unknown blood was starting to surround her. There was no creature around her this time to save her, just her stiff arms and her numb nerves.

 

She desperately needed oxygen. Her lungs couldn’t hold on much longer, and the surface was straying more and more away from her eyes.

 

Suddenly, something popped right in front of her eyes. Her eyes couldn’t make out what it was in the dark, but she found the energy to grab it with the last life that was left in her, climbing over it as it pulled her up.

 

Outside the water, Handong was holding the branch so tightly that her knuckles had become white. Her blood was dripping on the wood and once Gahyeon was close enough, she reached out for the young girl. Gahyeon lifted her heavy arm, but her hand only had the time to brush Handong’s before something grabbed her ankle, yanking her down. This time she held on to the branch tightly, staying above water level.

 

A cry pierced through Gahyeon’s ears. The decomposing corpse was holding tight onto Gahyeon’s ankle. Half of its hand had become rotten bones, and its face was no longer recognizable, completely deformed. Its words had turned into an inhuman wail: there was nothing more to do.

 

«The first girl was the first sister, Gluttony,» Gahyeon said in a whisper, pulling herself further up, the far too gone carcass following behind, «You must be the second.».

 

Bora yelled louder, unable to say a word through her swollen tongue.

 

«It’s lust that killed you» Gahyeon talked one last time, as Lust was still bawling.

 

Then she raised her free leg, aiming to the head, and with her eyes closed and a quick snap she kicked away what had once been Kim Bora.

 

 

 

 

Handong grabbed Gahyeon’s wrists with bloody hands, pulling her closer quickly, and they ran back to where the door was without looking back, jumping over the flames as distant screams followed them from the lake. The door was shut behind them, a suddenly a sensation of calm.

 

The room had been closed, locking the havoc behind it, and the only sound now were their heavy steps. Gahyeon fell on the ground of the dim hallway, loudly retching a thick stream of vomit mixed with river water and mud that made its way through her lips. The sight of the decaying corpse kept appearing in her eyes and the smell of blood, rotten meat and terrain stick to her nostrils. Handong kept her hair up, and when her throat was too sore to continue puking, she sit up, letting a trail of saliva fall from her open mouth as tears slowly healed the wounds of the kelps.

 

It was not a dream. If it could have still been one in the first room, Gahyeon was now sure that it was not a dream, not even a very bad nightmare. It was all real, it was all happening. Her life was really on the line.

 

«That girl,» she whispered, «she was lust».

 

Handong nodded quietly.

 

«When I was underwater a… thing saved me» Gahyeon continued.

 

«They were the previous souls, doomed here and trapped forever after they couldn’t be saved» Handong replied.

 

«Previous souls…?»

 

Handong got up, letting the white vest unfold on her body. «When the chosen one can’t save the others, they turn into spirits, one by one choosing their successors while the chosen one awaits the new cycle» she said, cleaning her hands on the cloth.

 

Gahyeon furrowed her eyebrows. «So the sinners aren’t always the same?» she asked, squeezing the water out of her hair and clothes.

 

«We all fall into sin» the older girl’s voice was but a whisper.

 

«So… you are a sinner too? And- and I’m also a sinner if I’m here?» confusion enhanced Gahyeon’s voice.

 

Handong turned her head towards a window. It was still pitch black outside, yet she worded carefully «You will have your answers at due time. Now you shall continue your journey, there’s not much time left».

 

Gahyeon stood up, her legs wobbling after the long fight in the water.

She wanted to get out of that place, and never come back again, but Gluttony’s hands on her throat were too tight and the water pressing against her chest was too real for her to risk anything.

Handong was right: they had to go forwards, it was the only way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so you've reached the end of what will probably be the most gory chapter.   
> a few notes:  
> – "Adipocere" happens when a body of someone who drowned stays in cold water for a certain period of time. It's basically when fat (adipo) turns into soap/wax (cere). dont ask me how that works okay   
> – this is not strictly accurate. It was exaggerated for dramatic effect in the way that the decaying of the corpse described here could apply to cold water w no bacteria (adipocere) and to warm water w a lot of bacteria (just the skin-falling putrefying part). I researched on the argument best way I could, I looked at idek how many pictures of drowned body so :) this chapter deadass scarred me I hope it will be as disturbing to you too.
> 
> Anyways, please do leave me some feedback, it would be greatly appreciated! Comments (and review on twt ig) really motivate me to keep writing so if you'd like to read more of it sooner, send some love down my way yes I AM desperate okay dont judge
> 
> well, anyways, until next time! thank you for reading this far!


	4. glass splinter #1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lust and Pride, Pride and Prejudice.

_Dark seaweed roamed in the crystalline water, bodies squirming all over as a single scream echoed against the waves. Ankles being pulled and arms twisted, holding on for dear life. And then a splash, cold water, blurry vision, hair all around. A gurgling, water splashing, skins touching. Two girls._

_«Bora! I will kill you!» the first yelled._

_Legs sprinting, mouths panting, teens shouting, music playing._

_«Catch me first!»  the second replied._

_And the second – Bora – was fast, but Minji’s arms were long._

_«Minji! Ya!»  she pleaded in despair._

_Hands ran all over her, itching her in the most sensitive parts, before Bora found herself slammed against the pool’s wall, a chest pressed against hers, hands locked on the edge behind her nape. She crossed her legs over the other body just above its waist pulling it closer, leaving no space in between while trying to stay afloat._

_They were close, too close for comfort, but the moment their eyes locked comfort ceased to exist._

_«You are an asshole» Minji snickered._

_Bora laughed out loud, lifting her head and looking down, «You can’t come to a pool party and then stay out of the water» she whined._

_Minji twitched her head towards Bora’s face, just for a moment before she pulled it back, biting her lips. «Gosh, I can’t stand that shit eating grin of yours» low voice vibrated against Bora’s stomach._

_«Well take it off then» the latter whispered, the grin leaving its place to lips left ajar and dilated pupils. And Minji would have taken it off, if the other didn’t jolt her hips forwards, pushing her away. She loved to tease, the little one._

_«Ya! Kim Bora!» a voice called out from behind. Bora glanced over Minji’s shoulder, shouting back «Coming!». She sent one last smirk to the girl in front of her, and then made her way quickly under her arms, pushing herself to reach her friends._

_Minji stayed defeated._

_«Min–»_

_She sunk her teeth harshly into Bora’s skin, sucking in and blowing air on after. Her hands held tight to the girl’s thighs, as if they were a trophy made of the finest gold._

_«Ya–»_

_She didn’t let her prey move, her hunger untameable._

_«Minji!»_

_Bora pushed her shoulders, bringing her back to the real world. Her lips were plump and red and a single sweat drop cornered her left eye._

_«You’re hurting me»._

_Minji’s eyes lingered on the girl’s glare before following the trail of redness left on her neck, until a single spot, darker than the others, appeared on her collarbone. She used her thumb to swipe it, a drop of blood following through on the soft skin. Minji closed her eyes, falling on the nearest wall behind her in the small bathroom. «I’m sorry» she whispered, «I’m just…». Words stuck down in her throat. If she said the wrong words, Bora would have walked away, no questions asked. But she didn’t have the time to even think before the girl pulled her back in again, locking her into another kiss. And they kissed and kissed and kissed until a pound on the door tore down the thin wall between them and reality._

_«Girls! It’s been fifteen minutes, what are you doing in there?» a high pitched voice shouted, melting with the girls’ heavy breath and the music playing in the background. «Please, I need to pee!»._

_«Just a second!» Minji shouted back with her usual cheery tone, the one that had everyone to her feet. Everyone but one. Everyone, but the one_ she _desired._

_They opened the door, careful to cover their faces and walk quickly, apologizing as they passed by the girl waiting (and the girl behind her, and the rest of the queue)._

_The night was still far away, the party had just begun._

_***_

Click.

_A purple gleam on her left, darkness all around._

_The quiet tapping of fingers on a joystick._

_Yoohyeon was sitting on the couch, legs bent tightly and pressed against her chest, a fan on max besides._

_«Where are the brats?» Bora called out. No response. She walked behind Yoohyeon, snapping her headset off her ears– gaining a scream in response._

_«Jesus Christ Bora! I could have hurt you!» the younger hissed._

_«You’ve been cranked up in that position since I last saw you, I don’t think your muscles would have allowed you,» Bora said, «and call me without honorifics once more and I’ll kill you»._

_At that point Yoohyeon had already gone back to playing, eyes sprinting from a side to the other of the screen, excusing herself for the scream on the online server. Her sister had turned the fan, pointing it directly towards her sticky stomach, when she asked again «Where are the brats?»._

_«Out» ,_

_«Both of them?» ,_

_Yoohyeon nodded._

_«Why didn’t you go with them?»_

_No reply._

_«Fucking brat» Bora humbled, grabbing her sister’s headphones again. Yoohyeon groaned loudly, «I’m playing!» she shouted._

_«Well then pause it» the older muttered, annoyance clear in her tone._

_«It’s live you idiot!» ._

_Bora walked to the kitchen, leaving her sister be. She grabbed a beer from the fridge – not exactly her taste but dad loved that brand – using it as an ice pack against her forehead. Both their brothers were hanging out, and she didn’t care much about her parents’ whereabouts– no, not her parents,_ her _father and_ Yoohyeon’s _mother. They could have both been murdered for what she cared. She had become an adult just a few days earlier, she could have already gone to live alone. The only reason why she was still stuck in that hole was because she had to look after Yoohyeon and her younger brother, since_ her _dad and his new wife didn’t do it. Neither of those two kids had been able to see past his bullshit. He acted like he loved them, but he never did and he never could. He never loved her, nor her older brother._

_«You know what, I’m not okay with this» Bora mumbled, munching some snacks as she walked back in the living room to her sister. Yoohyeon, who had only half of her headphones on so that she could hear the other, just hummed questioning. «It’s august, you’re 14 for god’s sake! And you’re just here, locked in your house playing video games» Bora shouted, turning off the fan and putting it away. «Let’s go out.» she said._

_Yoohyeon rolled her eyes, a loud grunt leaving her throat._

_«Come on! When I was your age I would spend every night as far away as possible from this place» the older continued, pulling Yoohyeon’s arm._

_«Yeah I’m not a social butterfly like you» the younger muttered._

_«It’ll be just me and you, I swear. We’ll go and eat some kimbap by the river, just- get out of here» Bora continued enthusiastically._

_It wasn’t hard, convincing Yoohyeon. Bora just had to hold the cable to her console and force her to turn it off before she could unplug it. She dressed her sister up like a pretty doll, and they walked hand in hand until the sweat forced them to detach._

_There were many people out at that hour, mostly kids. Bora knew many of them, some because of school, others because of her dance group, others were just acquaintances. On the contrary, everyone knew her. She had a reputation… not important if good or bad, people had her name always on their lips. Some out of jealousy, others of envy, no one for good deeds. But her head was still up, her chest pushed out, and her pace quick – mostly to keep up with her sister, who was already towering her at only fourteen – and full of confidence._

_Yoohyeon, on the other hand, was not too fond of the attention. Well, that is when the attention wasn’t directed towards her: and walking alongside Bora, she surely was just another passerby to the eyes of the rabble. You see, she was overly aware of the voices lurking around their school about her sister’s reputation. And if she could hide their relativeness for the first few years, it became significantly harder once Bora got her driving license and she turned into the official driver for the smaller two Kim siblings. Then, Yoohyeon would just keep her head low, leave the car and hurry inside school or the academy or wherever she had to go, avoiding the best she could any unforgiving stares._

_So you can imagine by now that hanging out alone with her sister wasn’t definitely her ideal night. She was ashamed, and it hurt. It hurt because Bora… didn’t hate her. And she wasn’t home most of the time and sometimes she was just straight up mean but in the end, Bora would look after her even if she didn’t know how to. But now, try not to be too hard on Kim Yoohyeon: she was only 14 years old, and as teenagers we all had distorted views on what’s important in life. Yoohyeon surely would never figure out, but at the same time, she wouldn’t quite ever have the chance to grow out of her adolescence._

_In the sultry evening of an August’s Friday, no place looked better than the convenience store next door, with spicy noodles and  air conditioning._

_«Do you remember when we came here for the first time?» Bora asked, a big smile slicing her cheeks._

_«When my brother tried to steal the egg?» Yoohyeon replied, looking carefully through the packs of chips._

_«And then when he walked out–»_

_«He fell on it and broke it» they talked in unison._

_The store was empty, their laughs echoed loudly between the aisles._

_«What about when your brother tried to sneak in some condoms in the shopping cart and dad gave him the talk?» Yoohyeon snickered._

_«That was a classic» Bora said smirking, preparing their ramyeon skilfully._

_Bora was good at cooking, even just instant noodles. Her hands were really golden, and Yoohyeon really looked forwards to filling her stomach, she had neglected eating the whole day, too immersed in her online matches._

_So they sat down, eating well and laughing carelessly at their family’s inside jokes, and for once Yoohyeon felt like maybe, just maybe, her step sister wasn’t that bad._

_«Yoohyeon-ssi?» a voice called out._

_Yoohyeon – trying not to choke – quickly swallowed her bite and turned to look at the source: Sung Jiyeon was towering over their table, two other girls behind her and a snarly smile on her face to the inevitable sight of Kim Bora. Yoohyeon knew exactly what that meant. «Hi, Jiyeon» she said._

_«Jane, it’s Jane now» the girl replied._

_Jiyeon had recently been casted by an entertainment company, and she was already convinced that that alone would make her as high in the social status as a real idol. She had even chosen her stage name already._

_«Right, sorry» Yoohyeon said in a low tone, leaving the girl to her delusions._

_«So, what are you doing here?» Jiyeon asked, «With… her?» her eyes trailed over to Bora._

_«I’m her–» the latter begun to speak, but before the last word could leave her mouth her sister interrupted her. «Tutor, she’s my tutor» her voice spoke quickly._

_Yoohyeon was at a crossroads, and she wasn’t sure she had taken the right path. Bora looked at her, mouth left hanging open and the eyes of confusion. Then realization. Then shame._

_«Tutor? In August?» Jiyeon muttered._

_«It’s never too early to get some school work done» Yoohyeon replied, showing her teeth– unsure if in a smile, or a growl._

_They had some small talk, before Jiyeon – and the two other girls – finally decided to leave the two Kims to themselves, only an unbearable silence between them._

_«So I’m your tutor.»_

_Bora’s voice was low, heavy. Her hands stirred calmly the cup in front of her._

_«Eonni it’s not-»_

_Bora raised her finger, shushing her sister. She lifted her head, her eyes were dark._

_«You know I was… just trying to spend some time with my_ sister _» her voice trembled, «but clearly it’s not reciprocated, isn’t it?»._

_«I can-»_

_«Because I’m a_ slut, _isn’t it?»_

_Yoohyeon couldn’t reply._

_«I know what they say about me» a single tear fell on her lips, «I just…»_

Sigh

 

_«I guess I thought you knew me better, but you’re just like them»._


End file.
